


Delta Cephei

by orsumfenix



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Secrets, Superhero Bokuto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 21:00:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5306564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orsumfenix/pseuds/orsumfenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day, Bokuto comes flying through Akaashi's window, and both subsequently fall in love. Little does Bokuto know, Akaashi is a lot more than he seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Delta Cephei

It all starts when Bokuto Koutarou comes crashing through the window.

Akaashi blinks, stares at the broken window, stares at the man now lying on the floor, and moves over to hover above him.

“Excuse me,” he says, concentrating on the man’s face – which is distracting, in and of itself. Really, those _eyebrows_. “You’ve broken my window.”

The man groans and cracks his eyes open slightly, though when they land on Akaashi they pop open all the way.

“Marry me!” the man blurts out, and Akaashi takes a few moments to stare.

“…You don’t have a ring,” he points out after a couple of seconds, and the man groans.

“I’m sorry, ignore me, that was the worst proposal ever!” he practically shouts, and Akaashi winces because – _ow_ , his _ears_. The man’s face scrunches up, and Akaashi finds himself thinking that it’s maybe sort of adorable.

“It wasn’t that bad,” he offers as the man pushes himself up to a seated position. “It was very dramatic, but my biggest issue with it is that you broke my window.”

“Shit, yeah, sorry,” the guy apologises, actually sounding guilty, which Akaashi supposes is… nice. There are lots of people he knows who would simply laugh it off and ignore Akaashi’s blatant annoyance. “I could… buy you a new one?”

“That would be fair,” Akaashi states, standing up fluidly. The guy stares up at him in awe. “Considering it was _you_ who broke it. I would be very angry if I had to be the one to pay for it.”

The guy’s face pauses before he grins and pulls himself up. Akaashi blinks. The guy is… muscled. Attractive. Smiling.

“Shit.”

“What?” the guy asks, confused. Oh. Akaashi spoke out loud.

He turns his head.

“Nothing.”

The guy’s grin gets wider, if that’s possible.

“You never said no to marrying me,” he declares, standing in a stance with crossed arms and legs far apart. Akaashi does _not_ stare at his muscles. “That mean you’re game?”

And, really, what can Akaashi say to a question like that? Especially with those _biceps_. It’s really not fair how toned this guy is.

Akaashi drags his eyes up from the guy’s arm muscles. The guy must have noticed him staring, because he’s grinning like mad. Akaashi cocks his head.

“I don’t know,” he finally says, for lack of anything better to say. “Are you worth marrying?”

And that’s how Bokuto Koutarou becomes determined to prove just how worthy he is.

 

00

 

The following day, someone knocks on the door.

Akaashi stares at it for a few seconds, because he can’t think of anyone that could possibly be knocking. Kuroo, maybe? Shimizu? Not at this time, _surely_.

When Akaashi swings the door open, he blinks.

The guy from yesterday is standing there.

“Hi!” he greets, looking for all the world like it’s a perfectly sunny afternoon, and not an abysmal cold evening. “I came back to fix your window!”

“You… did,” Akaashi states dully, looking the guy up and down. The guy whose name he still doesn’t even know. “You’d better come in, then. It would be difficult to fix the window from out in the cold.”

“Yeah!” the guy agrees, looking around enthusiastically. He’s already giving Akaashi a headache. “Hey, your house is _really_ nice.”

“You saw it yesterday,” Akaashi reminds, shutting the door behind Bokuto and shivering. _Ugh_. Now it’s cold _inside_ as well. He never should have opened that door. Then again, he _really_ needs his window fixing.

“Well, yeah, but I wasn’t paying _attention_.”

Akaashi blinks. He’s forgotten what they were even talking about, and it takes him a couple of moments to grasp what the man is commenting on.

He simply sighs in response.

“What’s your name, anyway?” Akaashi asks after a couple of seconds, because constantly referring to the guy as – well, _The Guy_ simply won’t do. “My name is Akaashi Keiji.”

“I’m Bokuto Koutarou!” said man announces, looking very excited whilst doing so. “I’m a superhero!”

“I noticed,” Akaashi comments dryly, beginning the ascent up the stairs. Bokuto practically bounces up them. “You flew through my window, it wasn’t that far of a stretch – were you pushed, by any chance?”

“Um, yeah,” Bokuto admits sheepishly. Akaashi isn’t facing him right now, but he can tell that Bokuto probably looks embarrassed. “Don’t think he meant to hurt me, though. We’re actually friends! He works in the shop I get all my stuff from.”

Akaashi didn’t ask for any of that information and tells himself that he doesn’t particularly care, but he nevertheless finds himself raising an eyebrow. Even though Bokuto can’t see him.

“You and…?”

“Oh! Oikawa. He’s a great guy, really, don’t know why he bothers with the whole ‘supervillain’ thing.”

“Ah,” is all Akaashi says in response – because, really, what _can_ you say to that? Not a lot, in Akaashi’s opinion. And there’s really no way to bring up that he already _knows_ Oikawa. He pulls to a stop. “Well, here we are – my bedroom.”

Bokuto looks at the gaping window with his mouth open for a second.

“…I really broke that?” he asks, and Akaashi nods. “I – didn’t mean to break it that much. Didn’t mean to break it _all_ , but, you know, if I could choose _how_ much I broke it -”

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi interrupts, watching as Bokuto stops with big eyes. Akaashi tries to look patient. “It’s fine. It wasn’t your fault. But it’s in my bedroom and I had to sleep downstairs last night, and I’d very much appreciate it if you fixed it now.”

“Oh! Right! Sure!”

Bokuto bounds forward, still entirely too enthusiastic for… _anyone_. Akaashi watches, not sure how he’s supposed to be feeling. He settles on exasperated.

Bokuto reaches the window and lifts his hands, and Akaashi looks on in interest as the pieces of glass raise and begin to assemble themselves without being touched. It’s no secret that Bokuto’s a superhero, and it looks like his power is telekinesis. Akaashi has seen multiple heroes using this on the TV, but, still. It’s so much _better_ to watch in person.

Bokuto’s tongue flicks out of his mouth and onto his lips for a second, and Akaashi will never admit to his eyes focusing on that area instead of the glass.

“I’m done,” Bokuto finally announces, stepping back with a pleased air. He looks as though he’s expecting a compliment of some kind.

Akaashi simply analyses the window with narrowed eyes.

“You can still see the cracks,” he announces after several seconds, and Bokuto’s grin turns into a pout almost immediately. “Though it’s not _too_ -”

Akaashi blinks as he’s cut off by Bokuto letting out a dejected wail and curling up on the floor. His hair seems to be… drooping _with_ him. It’s all very odd.

“Um,” Akaashi says. “Are you all right, Bokuto-san?”

“I broke your window!” said man gasps, though the noise is muffled through his hands. “And I couldn’t even fix it right! I’m a terrible superhero! And the proposal was terrible! I didn’t even have a _ring_!”

“You haven’t quite won my heart yet,” Akaashi agrees, latching on to the end of the sentence. “But I think there’s still time.”

“Nooo! You shouldn’t marry me! I’d be a terrible husband! I can’t even fix your _window_!”

“ _I_ couldn’t fix my window,” Akaashi points out. When Bokuto simply wails, he sighs. “If you won’t stop being ridiculous, then I’m going downstairs. Come and join me once you’re done moping about.”

Bokuto shows no sign of moving, so Akaashi goes downstairs.

 

00

 

Akaashi rings Kuroo.

“There’s a superhero moping on my bedroom floor,” he informs as soon as Kuroo picks up. “And I don’t know which one.”

“’Hello, Kuroo, lovely to see you’,” Kuroo mocks, though Akaashi can tell he’s grinning even from on the other end of a phone line. “This superhero doesn’t happen to look like an _owl_ , do they?”

Akaashi pauses, reflecting back.

“Kind of.”

Kuroo’s laugh is loud and uncomfortable even down the phone, and Akaashi pulls the phone away from his ear for a few seconds to let it subside.

“Yeah, that’ll be Bokuto,” Kuroo drawls. “Didn’t know you two knew each other.”

Kuroo wants to hear the story, and Akaashi can’t be bothered to keep it from him.

“He came flying through my window and broke it yesterday,” he informs, almost smirking himself at the delighted sound Kuroo makes. “He promised he’d fix it, although I didn’t think he actually _would_ , until he showed up today. And I know his name is Bokuto. I’d like to know which _superhero_ he is.”

“That’s one of the best things I’ve heard,” Kuroo comments smugly, and Akaashi realises that Bokuto, whoever he is, will probably spend the rest of his life tormented for this. “Why is he moping? Did you reject him?”

 _Did_ Akaashi reject him? He’s fairly sure that, if anything, he’d made it clear he was interested.

“He proposed as soon as he saw me yesterday,” Akaashi states, and he didn’t think it was possible to _hear_ Kuroo’s delighted expression. “I told him it was a bit shoddy, but I didn’t _reject_ him. He’s moping because when he fixed the window you could still see the cracks.” He pauses. “And you never told me which superhero he is.”

Kuroo lets out a sound akin to a cat mewling. Akaashi frowns.

“Oh, he’s _never_ going to hear the end of this,” Kuroo mutters. “And don’t worry, he does that. Goes into ‘dejected mode’ about the littlest of things. He’ll have cooled off by the end of the day. And he’s Owler.”

Akaashi takes a second to reflect on the fact that it’s _that_ superhero that came crashing through his window.

“…I’d heard the name,” he says dumbly after a few moments. “I never thought I’d actually meet the person _ridiculous_ enough to call themselves that.”

“Hey, it’s _not_ ridiculous!” a voice calls from the doorway, and when Akaashi’s eyes drift over he sees Bokuto standing there. “It’s awesome!”

“It’s stupid,” Akaashi informs bluntly, disconnecting with Kuroo. “Considering this is how people are going to know you forever, you really should’ve gotten a second opinion on what name you picked.”

“I did get a second opinion,” Bokuto practically whines, moving into the kitchen. “I got Kuroo’s.”

Oh. That makes sense.

“You should’ve gotten a second opinion that _wasn’t_ Kuroo’s,” Akaashi corrects, moving away from the phone and towards the oven. “He was obviously just going to tell you whatever will make you sound stupid. And Owler does.”

“It sounds _cool_ ,” Bokuto mutters, pouting. “And it’s a pun.”

Akaashi blinks.

“A pun on _what_?”

Bokuto shoots him a _look_ , like it should be obvious.

“Howler. Owler.”

Akaashi stares, confused.

“What does howling have to do with anything?” When Bokuto doesn’t come up with an answer, Akaashi sighs. “That’s a terrible pun. If you were so intent on making one, then you should have gone with something relevant and easy to grasp.”

“Like what?”

Akaashi shrugs. Bokuto crosses his arms. His hair has perked back up, Akaashi notes. He shouldn’t be surprised.

Silence reigns for a few seconds. Bokuto shuffles nervously.

“Want to get a coffee?” he blurts after a couple of seconds. Akaashi stares and Bokuto scrambles to sound more put together. He doesn’t quite succeed. “I mean, you’re really cool so far, and you’re kind of really gorgeous, and you acted like you were interested, and. Yeah.”

Akaashi’s heart is travelling at about a million miles an hour, but he has a feeling that his face is calm.

“Now or later?” he asks, voice level even though it probably really shouldn’t be. Bokuto’s face perks up instantly, and Akaashi feels his own lips twitch.

_Oh, fucking shit._

 

00

 

When Bokuto had said “a date”, something romantic had come to Akaashi’s mind. A coffee shop, maybe, nice and warm with baristas and pictures of muffins lining the walls.

He hadn’t pictured the local supermarket.

“Hey, hey, Akaashi!” Bokuto exclaims, holding something behind his back. “Stay right there.”

Akaashi blinks, but does as he’s told, watching as Bokuto gets down on one knee. What is happening.

“Akaashi,” Bokuto says very seriously, bringing his hand out from behind him. Akaashi’s lips twitch when he sees what Bokuto is holding. “Will you marry me?”

Akaashi looks at the Haribo ring, and doesn’t even stop himself from smiling.

Yes, this _definitely_ counts as a date.

“What kind of a question is that, Bokuto-san?” he teases, taking the Haribo ring from Bokuto and sliding it onto his finger. “This is all incredibly romantic. Breaking my window, moping in my room, giving me a sweet in a supermarket… Why don’t you have people falling over to marry you?”

“Ha, ha,” Bokuto grumbles, grinning as he rises back up. “You’re really hilarious, Akaashi.”

“I like to think so,” Akaashi says, looking around. They’re in an empty aisle. He decides to ask what’s been bugging him. “How do you know Kuroo?”

“Uh, you don’t know?” Bokuto asks in surprise, and when Akaashi silently shakes his head, grins. “Well, we work on the same police force. Partners.”

“Oh,” Akaashi says in a small voice. “You’re a police officer?”

“Yeah, when I’m not being Owler,” Bokuto informs, and Akaashi frowns on instinct at the name. Honestly, it is just _so_ ridiculous. “It’s pretty fun, though I guess it _can_ get hard.” Bokuto shoots him an inquisitive look. Here it comes. “What do you do, Akaashi?”

Akaashi forces a small smile. It probably looks as false as it feels.

“I don’t work,” he states, fiddling with his fingers. “I – when my parents died, they left me a big sum of money. I haven’t needed to work, and I doubt I ever will.”

“Oh, I.” Bokuto stops, squinting in confusion and tilting his head. Akaashi wishes Kuroo had never pointed out how much Bokuto looks like an owl, because now he can’t get the image out of his head. “Should I feel sorry for you, or happy? I mean, your parents died, _wow_ that must _suck_ , but – you never have to work!”

“Please don’t pity me, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi sighs, fingers twirling in the bottom of his coat. _My parents aren’t even dead._ The words lie on his tongue, but he stays silent on the matter. “I got over it a long time ago. Now, when’s the wedding?”

Bokuto blinks and pauses before his eyes drift to Haribo ring on Akaashi’s finger and he grins.

“I have to heroically rescue you before I marry you,” he declares, holding up his fist and looking all the world like an overexcited toddler. Akaashi’s eyes focus on Bokuto’s biceps to remind himself that this man is _not_ , in fact, a child. Bokuto cocks his head. “Unless you’re a hero, too…?”

Akaashi shakes his head.

“Not a hero, no,” he agrees quietly, and luckily Bokuto doesn’t pick up. He just grins. Akaashi’s not sure whether to be pleased or guilty.

“I’ll save you, then,” Bokuto announces, narrowing his eyes a second later. “But from _what_?”

“Boredom,” Akaashi offers, and is only vaguely surprised when Bokuto looks as though that’s the best idea he’s ever heard.

 

00

 

“How long has Bokuto been your police partner?” he asks over the phone, Kuroo making a disinterested noise in reply. “Kuroo. I need to know.”

“Not _that_ long,” Kuroo says. “But not that _short_ , either.”

Akaashi frowns at how _unspecific_ Kuroo managed to make it. Doubtless on purpose.

“Kuroo,” he says, sounding a lot calmer than he feels. “Does he know about… you know what?”

Kuroo makes a little humming noise.

“ _Do_ I know what?” he asks, and right as Akaashi opens his mouth to retort Kuroo carries on. “You mean your dark and mysterious past? Nah, Bokuto’s not been around long enough to know.”

Akaashi’s whole body relaxes.

“Good,” he states. “And it’s not ‘dark and mysterious’. How can it be mysterious if quite a few people know about it?”

“Dark, then,” Kuroo corrects, and – well, Akaashi can’t really fault him on that. Kuroo sighs on the other end of the line. “You’re _really_ not gonna tell him?”

It’s phrased like a rhetorical question, but Akaashi answers anyway.

“No. I would…” He takes a deep breath. “Appreciate it if _you_ didn’t tell him, either.”

Kuroo makes a small chuckle that Akaashi hates.

“Fine. I’ll keep your dirty little secret. But don’t start crying when he finds out anyway.”

“It’s not _dirty_ -” Akaashi begins to correct, just as Kuroo disconnects. He stares at the phone for a couple seconds, puts it down, and sighs.

He just hopes Kuroo will keep his promise.

 

00

 

When Bokuto had basically stated that he was going to save Akaashi from boredom, Akaashi had naturally thought that Bokuto would be visiting once, maybe twice a week.

He hadn’t expected _every fucking day_.

Bokuto is. Always there. Even if it’s only stopping by for a few minutes, he shows up every day to excitedly exclaim about how “awesome!” his day was, whether it be some strange person he arrested or a villain he managed to stop as Owler. Each time Akaashi finds himself listening intently, even if the story isn’t all that interesting, just for the way that Bokuto tells it with excited expressions and big hand motions.

Akaashi may be falling just the tiniest bit in love.

Which explains how he finds himself in the dinosaur exhibit of a museum.

“This is the best date ever!” Bokuto exclaims loudly, to the displeasure of several other visitors who shoot him annoyed looks. Bokuto ignores them and beams. “Don’t you think, Akaashi?”

“Not the _best_ ,” Akaashi states, hastening to tack something on as Bokuto’s features fall. “But it’s certainly very unique. And the dinosaurs are very impressive. I’m sure Tsukishima would like it here.”

Bokuto turns his head to Akaashi at that.

“You know Tsukki?” he asks in shock, to which Akaashi simply inclines his head.

“I thought only his friend was allowed to call him that.”

“Yeah, he hates it when we do it. So me and Kuroo do it as often as possible,” Bokuto informs, shooting Akaashi a grin. It’s infectious.

“Somehow,” he sighs. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

Bokuto grins, and then a large exhibit catches his eye and he rushes off to go and see it closer. Akaashi trails after him, looking around, and thinks that – yes, this _is_ a good date.

 

00

 

Somehow, he finds himself accompanying Bokuto to the shop one day.

“I never understand how you have enough time to visit me,” Akaashi comments as they walk through the automatic doors. “You work at a _police station_ , you do superhero work on top of that, and you still have to rest.” He pauses, “ _Do_ you get any rest, Bokuto-san?”

“I do!” Bokuto defends, and he really _must_ be a superhero to have this much energy. “And I’m like, doubling up on sorting out my stuff and seeing you. We’re going shopping together. I can multitask.”

“…True,” Akaashi concedes, dutifully following where Bokuto’s steps lead them in the shop. “I still think you have some kind of secret, though.”

Bokuto opens his mouth to respond, but before he can someone appears.

“Ooii, Bokuto,” a voice sings, and Akaashi can literally _hear_ the love hearts. Oh, _god_. He knows that voice. “Ooh, who’re you…?”

Oikawa trails off when he catches sight of Akaashi’s face. Akaashi isn’t surprised.

Bokuto doesn’t even notice.

“Oh! Akaashi, this is Oikawa Tooru, he works here. Oikawa, this is Akaashi Keiji, my boyfriend.”

Akaashi doesn’t want to admit that his heart races at that word – “boyfriend” – and he thinks that maybe his smile should be a little more genuine, but Oikawa is still staring at him in shock, and Akaashi _doesn’t want Bokuto to know_.

“It’s nice to meet you, Oikawa-san,” he greets, looking Oikawa in the eyes and trying to get his point across. _Act like we don’t know each other._

“Yeah,” Oikawa replies, clearing his throat. “You too. For the… _first_ time.”

That’s quite obviously the worst thing Oikawa could have done, and Akaashi shoots him a _look_ just especially to let him know. Honestly, even _Bokuto_ could pick up on that – and, sure enough, he does.

“Wait, do you two know each other?” he asks with wide eyes, head swinging back and forth between them. Akaashi expects him to ask the questions of “since _when_?” and “how did you meet?”, but somehow Bokuto manages to sidestep them entirely. “Akaashi,” he whines instead. “Why do you already know everyone I know?”

“I only know Kuroo, Tsukishima and Oikawa-san,” he points out. He’s never referred to Oikawa with a -san before, but now that he’s already said it in front of Bokuto he supposes that he’ll have to keep going. “That’s not everyone you know.”

“Hey,” Oikawa interrupts, garnering both their attentions. “Bokuto, Iwa-chan’s at the till – why don’t you go talk to him? I’d like to – _catch up_ – with Akaashi.” Oikawa says it in a way that’s entirely too sweet to be true, and Akaashi thinks that Bokuto knows it as well. But, the man only looks slightly suspicious as he wanders off to find this ‘Iwa-chan’.

As soon as he’s out of earshot, Oikawa leans forward with a dark look in his eyes.

“What are you _doing_ here?” he hisses. Akaashi’s hands start to fiddle.

“I’m dating Bokuto,” he informs truthfully. “I would have thought that was obvious.”

Oikawa just rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah,” he says impatiently. “You two are smitten with each other, I can already see that, but – Akaashi, do you _really_ think that dating a superhero is a good idea?”

“You’re doing that same thing,” Akaashi points out, making Oikawa flush slightly.

“That is not the _same thing_!” he announces, perhaps a little too loudly, since a couple of other customers turn their heads. Oikawa shoots them an apologetic look before carrying on in a quieter tone. “And I’m not a serious villain. _You_ are.”

That… makes Akaashi angry.

“I _was_ ,” he replies coldly. “And Bokuto doesn’t know that.”

Wrong thing to say. Oikawa looks gobsmacked.

“He doesn’t _even know_?” he demands, looking like he can’t decide whether to be panicked or angry and ending up with a face stuck halfway in between – frowning eyebrows, wide eyes, pursed lips. “Akaashi, I know you’re not. Not exactly _proud_ of the stuff you did, but don’t you think he has a right to know?”

“Of course I do!” Akaashi snaps back almost immediately, and Oikawa jumps back slightly at the shock. Akaashi doesn’t blame him. He’s shocked himself; it’s been a _long_ time since he’s been this riled up. He takes a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. “I just – if he knows, he’ll. He’ll leave. You know he will, Oikawa.”

They are both silent for a couple of seconds.

“…Maybe he won’t,” Oikawa murmurs after a couple seconds. “You can’t know for sure until you try.”

Akaashi shoots him a _look_ that he thinks comes out a little too bitter.

“What do you think are the odds of him staying?” he asks. Oikawa bites his lip, and Akaashi knows that he knows the answer. “If I tell him, I’ll lose him. I can’t – I don’t want that. I wouldn’t be able to _stand_ that.”

Silence again.

“Okay,” Oikawa finally breathes. “But if – no, _when_ he finds out and he stays, I’ll be here to tell you ‘I told you so’.”

 

00

 

They are on a date in a pet store admiring cute animals when Akaashi realises that he’s fallen in love.

It’s less of an “oh shit” feeling than he would have thought – more “oh,” then “okay”.

“Akaashi! Look! They have _owls_!”

They _do_ have owls. _Big_ ones.

“That’s very interesting, Bokuto,” Akaashi states, narrowing his eyes. “You’re fond of owls, aren’t you?”

“I’m more than just ‘ _fond_ ’,” Bokuto claims, looking past Akaashi and his eyes widening. “Oh my god, Akaashi.” He tugs on his sleeve. Akaashi just stares. “Look at the hat.”

Sighing, Akaashi does as he’s told.

And blinks.

There’s an owl hat. A hat with an owl on it. Not a literal owl, of course, but – a hat shaped like an owl. An owl hat.

Bokuto looks like he’s in love.

“I have to have that hat,” he states bluntly, then turns his head to Akaashi and seems to change his mind. “No, wait – _you_ have to have that hat!”

Akaashi blinks.

“If you want,” he says, but Bokuto has already picked up the hat and is rushing towards the till to buy it. His enthusiasm is otherworldly. “You know,” Akaashi says, approaching Bokuto. “Most people buy _animals_ in a pet shop.”

Bokuto turns around, grinning, newly bought hat in his hands. He can see it coming, but has no time to stop Bokuto from jamming it on top of Akaashi’s head.

It’s itchy and a lot heavier than it looks and probably not worth the yen that it cost, but Bokuto looks at Akaashi with stars in his eyes, and so he smiles.

“It’s nice, thank you, Bokuto,” he says. Whether he’s talking about the hat or Bokuto’s smile, he’s not sure himself.

Bokuto grins, and Akaashi thinks “oh, okay”.

He’s fallen in love, and it’s happened horrendously fast.

 

00

 

It occurs to Bokuto about a few weeks after he crashed through Akaashi’s window that, other than then, his boyfriend hasn’t actually seen him in the heroic act.

He has to change that.

Which is how Akaashi finds himself watching from on top of a small building – a “safe distance”, as Bokuto called it – as Bokuto himself has a fight with the Grand King.

With Oikawa.

It’s still slightly disconcerting to see him fighting with horns erupting from his head and with red eyes blazing, especially so now that Akaashi’s seen him looking perfectly fine and normal just recently. But, then again, seeing Bokuto dressed as the Owler, with a horrifically appropriate outfit, really takes the cake.

That _outfit_ is terribly wonderful, in the fact that Akaashi can see all of Bokuto’s muscles through it.

Akaashi smirks.

In all honesty, his eyes are more fixed on Bokuto’s thighs than the fight itself. He’s seen Oikawa in demon form plenty of times, but _Bokuto’s thighs_? That’s something he’ll probably never get enough of.

Akaashi folds his legs just someone clears their throat from behind him.

He turns slightly, features relaxing when he sees who it is.

“What are you doing here, Kenma?” he asks, watching out the corner of his eye as said person sits down beside him. Kenma shrugs.

“Same as you,” he mutters quietly. “Watching the fight.”

Akaashi nods in understanding, and the two sit in silence for a while. That’s what Akaashi’s always liked about Kenma, he muses. The two can sit in silence without the pressure to talk, and it’s a comfortable quiet. Always has been.

Bokuto says something to Oikawa that makes him laugh. Neither seems to be taking the fight seriously. Akaashi supposes that they’re too friendly for that.

Bokuto wins in the end, of course. He hoots in triumph – _literally_ – and holds his fists in the air, turning to look at Akaashi as though saying “didja see that?!” Akaashi himself holds up a hand.

“Nice hat,” Kenma says abruptly, out of nowhere. Akaashi shoots him a sidelong glance.

“Bokuto got it for me.”

Kenma nods.

“Kuroo says you’re dating.” Straight to the point. It’s one of the reasons Akaashi and Kenma get along so well.

“He’s right. We are.”

“Hmm.”

Silence reigns again. Akaashi watches as Oikawa goes out of his demon form, horns seemingly shrinking back into his skull and eyes presumably changing from red to their usual colour.

“I think you two are good for each other,” Kenma murmurs, but then turns his head away when Akaashi looks over.

Kenma doesn’t speak again, after that – just stands and leaves after several minutes, right in time for Bokuto to come bounding over.

He’s at the bottom of the building and Akaashi at the top, but Bokuto isn’t any less enthusiastic as he looks up and _grins_.

“Hey, Akaashi!” he yells, somehow still managing to make Akaashi wince with his volume. “How cool was _that_?”

“It was very cool, Bokuto,” Akaashi states, standing up. “Though you _did_ only defeat one person.”

Bokuto pouts.

“Oikawa’s a _demon_ , though,” he whines. “He’s got powers and stuff.”

“So have you,” Akaashi points out, still looking down. “You move things with your mind. Like you moved me up here. But I’d like to come down now, please.”

“Sure thing!” Bokuto shouts again, and Akaashi jerks in shock as he feels himself start to be moved. “Don’t worry, I won’t drop you.”

“I know you won’t,” Akaashi says, sounding a lot calmer than he feels as he’s telekinetically floated to the ground. “I trust you, Bokuto.”

Bokuto looks thrilled at that, though Akaashi’s fairly sure that it should have been _obvious_ that he trusts him by now. If not, Bokuto would never have gotten as far as even going into his room to fix his window, all that time ago.

“Hey, hey Akaashi,” Bokuto sings once he’s at the bottom, moving forwards to envelop Akaashi in a hug. His hair is really kind of fluffy and it really kind of tickles. “Want to come speak to the public with me?”

“Do I have a choice?” Akaashi sighs. Bokuto leans away, grinning.

“Nope!” he announces, beginning to drag Akaashi along. “It’ll be fun.”

When Bokuto catches sight of a particular person that’s there, though, his footsteps slow down and his smile drops.

“Ugh, I was wrong,” he groans, looking considerably less enthusiastic to reach the public. Confused, Akaashi follows Bokuto’s gaze until his eyes land on a particularly unpleasant-looking man. “This guy is the _worst_. He won’t leave me alone!”

“Owler,” the man greets in a snide tone, moving forwards. He gives Akaashi a once-over, sniffing at the owl hat before curling his lip, and turns back to Bokuto. Akaashi quirks an eyebrow. “I see you’ve failed to bring in the Grand King, yet again.”

“Yeah, well, being a superhero’s not all about just arresting people,” Bokuto answers hotly. The man scowls. “If it _was_ , then I’d just stick to the police. I have to _help_ people!”

“You’re not doing a very good job of that, are you?” the man questions, and Bokuto’s expression gets even darker. “You seem to be too busy with your…” His eyes drift to Akaashi, and the latter finally notices that this is a reporter he’s seen on the news a lot. He wonders why there’s no cameras. “Boyfriend.”

“Excuse me,” Akaashi interrupts, before Bokuto can run his mouth and say something he’ll regret. “Owler, why don’t you go talk to that nice reporter over there? She looks very excited to see you.”

Bokuto’s eyes follow to where Akaashi’s pointing and he perks up.

“I – yeah! I’ll go do that!” He shoots Akaashi a strange look, though. “Are you staying here?”

“Yes,” Akaashi says, eyes fixated on the horrible reporter’s dark ones. “See you, Bokuto.”

Bokuto bounds off, and Akaashi doesn’t even watch his thighs as he does so.

“So, what do you want?” the guy sneers after a couple of seconds, nose upturned. “You’re not anyone special.”

“Aren’t I?” Akaashi retorts coolly, and is pleased to see the reporter looking hesitant. “You shouldn’t judge people, you know.”

The guy looks like he might be beginning to regret staying, but to his credit he stands his ground.

“What do you want?” he asks again. Akaashi simply inclines his head.

“You upset my boyfriend.”

“So _what_?” the reporter bites. “He’s a _terrible_ superhero, he lets the Grand King get away _every time_ -”

“Do you know why?” Akaashi interrupts, still staring deeply into the reporter’s eyes. He continues without an answer. “It’s because the Grand King isn’t a serious villain. He’s never hurt anyone.”

“Where’s this going? I’m busy. I’ve gotta go hassle Owler.”

Oh, that was the _wrong_ thing to say.

“I’m giving you this choice,” Akaashi says, trying to ignore the rage pounding in his ears. “Leave him alone.”

The reporter scoffs.

“That was supposed to be a _choice_?” he asks. “That was _so_ unconvincing.”

“Fine,” Akaashi says, voice clipped. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He keeps his eyes locked deep onto the reporter’s as he lets the echo he used to be so used to hearing enter his voice.

“ ** _Leave Bokuto alone_** ,” he Compulses, and a purple shift goes over the man’s eyes for a moment. “Do you understand?”

“ **Leave him alone** ,” the man replies dully, before blinking and shaking his head, frowning in confusion. “I – what just…?”

“Hey, Akaashi!” Bokuto calls, approaching. “Are you done yet?”

The reporter takes one look at Bokuto before turning on his heel and running. Bokuto blinks after him.

“What did you say to him?” he asks uncertainly, glancing at Akaashi out of the corner of his eye. “He looks _scared_.”

Akaashi shrugs, looking much more casual than he feels.

“I have no idea why he’d be _scared_ ,” he states, and Bokuto seems to believe him. “But I think that from now on, he’s going to leave you alone.”


End file.
